Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus unveiled a deal between his Grameen bank and French group Veolia Environment to provide clean water to poor rural communities in Bangladesh.
The Bangladeshi economist also sought support from President Nicolas Sarkozy for creating more microcredit schemes to fight poverty, particularly in Africa. Sarkozy told Yunus that France would continue and step up its efforts to provide access to loans to the poor and noted that more than a third of France's African aid funding was now directed toward microfinance.
After discussions with Sarkozy, Yunus sat down with top business leaders at the Elysee including billionaire Vincent Bollore and announced the creation of the new joint company with Veolia Environment. Called Grameen-Veolia Water, the company will operate several water treatment plants in Bangladeshi villages, with the goal of bringing clean water to 100,000 people.
The project represents investments worth 500,000 euros (790,000 dollars).
Full Story from AFP
